Tag Archives: Veterans

Jan 23 2026

When Governments Abandon Their Veterans


Posted originally on Jan 23, 2026 by Martin Armstrong |  

Governments do not honor their veterans—period. It is absolutely shameful to see how governments treat the men and women who risk their lives to defend their nation. A disabled war veteran in the UK was arrested last year for protesting in favor of Palestine. Police lifted this man out of his wheelchair and sent him to jail on a stretcher.

The Bonus Army episode is one of the clearest historical warnings about what happens when governments make promises they cannot honor and then respond to economic stress with force instead of reform. In 1932, tens of thousands of World War I veterans marched on Washington to demand early payment of bonuses that had been promised to them for their service. These were not radicals or revolutionaries. These men were former soldiers who believed the government would keep its word. Instead, they were treated as a threat. President Hoover ordered troops to attack the veterans, forcing them to flee. We saw the same with the Coxley’s Army, which was the march on Washington following the Panic of 1893 and massive unemployment.

Coxley March

Governments always fear veterans because they expose the lie. These are the people who were told there was honor, duty, and reward in service. When they return home to broken promises, inadequate care, or economic hardship, they become living proof that the social contract was fraudulent. Rather than admit failure, the state chooses censorship, intimidation, or character assassination. It is far easier to silence the messenger than to confront the insolvency of the promises made.

When governments begin silencing veterans, you are no longer dealing with a free society — you are witnessing the unmistakable decline phase of the state. Veterans are the last group any rational government should attempt to suppress. They are not activists looking for power; they are people who once believed in the system strongly enough to risk their lives for it. When even they are treated as enemies, confidence has already collapsed.

Oct 4 2014

MORE ON THE VA MISTREATMENT OF VETERANS


I have a friend that s a Vietnam veteran suffering from the effect of exposure to Agent Orange. Recently he had to be taken to a local emergency center stabilized and then when they tried to send him to the local VA which in Cleveland is the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (named after a local politician of course) the EM center was told they had no beds available! Since he needed treatment he was shuffled around between two local hospitals for two days before the VA let him in. When he got there the ward was mostly empty but he assumed they had let people out.

Later after receiving treatment and being released and recovering at home he started to receive billing for the two hospitals he had been sent to because the VA would not take him even though he was entitled. The bills were not inconsequential amounting to thousands of dollars. Which the VA said they were not responsible for the costs! I could maybe understand a minor outpatient situation but this was life threatening and they refused to admit him.

Though a local tea party association with some connection a call was made to an Ohio Senator and weeks later it appeared the VA was covering some, but not all, of those costs. I don’t know if this was from the Ohio senator or just the efforts of my friends. But in discussions with my friends more information came out.

A relative of my friend who is also a Vietnam Vet had a similar experience recently and his doctor told him that it was standard policy for the VA to say they had no beds. Now I don’t know if this is part of the other scandal at the VA but it seems that they have a policy sample of 2 but the same story with the doctors telling one of them that he felt that was common to say, “there are no beds available” that this is just a way to force the veteran to incur costs or maybe they will just die and they will be done with them.

I am also a Vietnam Vet with a disability from wounds in Vietnam and I go to the Louis Stokes VA for my treatments so far not life threatening nor requiring admission but it is a NEW building with lots of capacity so from my experience the “No Beds” doesn’t seem right to me.

This post is placed here to see if any others have got this treatment and if so please leave a comment here so we can take action on this potentially serious problem.